Guardianship & Trusts Corporation of Tennessee (GTC) serves clients who, by reason of developmental disability, mental illness or other impairment of intellect, are unable to make informed and rational decisions about financial, medical and/or other matters. GTC empowers our clients to live in the least restrictive environment possible by providing financial management and other personal services as authorized by the courts and fiduciary documents for persons who may be facing declining physical and mental health and limitations such as poor living conditions, dwindling finances and social isolation.

Leadership

CEO/Executive DirectorMs. Dora Mitchell

Board ChairMs. Carrie Hobbs Guiden

Board Chair Company AffiliationThe Arc of Tennessee

History & Background

Year of Incorporation1983

Organization's type of tax exempt status501-C3

Financial Summary

Graph: Expense Breakdown Graph - All Years

Projected Expenses$340,250.00

Projected Annual Revenue$345,000.00 (2017)

Statements

MissionGuardianship & Trusts Corporation of Tennessee (GTC) serves clients who, by reason of developmental disability, mental illness or other impairment of intellect, are unable to make informed and rational decisions about financial, medical and/or other matters. GTC empowers our clients to live in the least restrictive environment possible by providing financial management and other personal services as authorized by the courts and fiduciary documents for persons who may be facing declining physical and mental health and limitations such as poor living conditions, dwindling finances and social isolation.

Background

Guardianship and Trusts Corp. provides court-ordered conservator services for individuals with disabilities in Davidson County or in one of eight nearby counties in middle Tennessee. After a hearing in which the court finds that a person lacks the capacity for decision-making and self-care due to disabilities of age or other vulnerabilities, the court appoints GTC to serve as guardian of the person, conservator of the person’s property, or both. GTC’s role is to assess and coordinate living arrangements, health care, insurance, finances, and legal representation if necessary. The goal is to assist the client in managing his or her affairs in the way that he or she would if able, maintaining the person in the least restrictive setting while maximizing the person’s financial resources.

Begun as a project of The Arc Tennessee in 1979, GTC was separately incorporated in 1980. GTC holds a Certificate of Banking Authority granted in 1983 by the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions, which conducts regular audits of clients' accounts. We are the only non-profit trust company in the state and the only non-profit conservator in middle Tennessee serving indigent clients at no cost. Over the past three decades GTC has served as conservator for many abused, neglected and exploited individuals whose conditions were brought to the court’s attention by Tennessee Adult Protective Services. The court approves payment of fees for our services. Self-paying clients make up the bulk of our revenue stream, and GTC solicits charitable donations to pay for the services rendered to indigent clients. At the beginning of calendaryear 2017, 27% of our conservatorship clients are indigent.

Impact

GUARDIANSHIP
AND TRUSTS CORP

SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS

2016

GTC became the court-appointed conservator for two additional wards in 2016. Adult Protective Services (APS) had identified one of these individuals and asked the Seventh Circuit Court of Davidson County Probate Division to assign Guardianship and Trusts Corp. (GTC) as the guardian and conservator due to abuse, exploitation or neglect. These individuals required immediate and intensive intervention, and all three have improved significantly since coming under our care:

1) “Cecil” was an indigent veteran with no family and a girlfriend accused of neglect and exploitation. He was already hospitalized when the court named GTC emergency temporary conservator. This gentleman declined rapidly, and GTC was in place to make difficult decisions to improve the quality of life he had left and ultimately, to allow him to die with dignity. He passed peacefully and GTC worked with the Department of Veteran’s Affairs, Metro Social Services, Nashville National Cemetery and a private funeral home to ensure that he received a proper burial. None of this would have been possible without the Court’s appointment of GTC.

2) “Cindy” has a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia, and had been always been assisted by an older family member—but when his health started to fail, he recognized the need for a new conservator and approached GTC. Although planned, successor conservatorships are a rarity for GTC, this may become increasingly important as the elderly demographic expands in our community and family resources are stretched thin.

3) Diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, “Mary” had been living alone in a run-down cabin on her parents’ property for years, with her disability checks managed by an old family friend who never bothered to check on her. Mary would wander the area at all hours, sometimes unclothed and covered with mosquito bites, even going onto her neighbor’s porch to eat their dog’s food. Mary’s stability declined and meanwhile the “friend” spent all of her money on low-quality repairs to the house, which included a room with several inches of feces smeared on the walls. GTC became her conservator in 2015, and in 2016 was able to liquidate her real estate at a bid 50% higher than the appraised value. This sale financed Mary’s move from a basic boarding house to an assisted living facility with a host of social programs and opportunities. Mary now serves as a volunteer in the facility’s kitchen and likes to accompany the head nurse on her rounds. She is able to worship at her old church and has started playing her guitar again.

4) Additionally, through the assistance of funds from the Frist Technology Grant, GTC was able to purchase and install updated software for client account management as well as new software for corporate account management. The Frist grant also provided an opportunity to purchase an office cell phone for our guardian on call, replacing the outmoded pager system previously in use.

GUARDIANSHIP AND TRUSTS CORP

STRATEGIC GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

2016-2017

1) Continue to accept Adult Protective Services emergency requests for conservator services while making ourselves available to take over conservatorships from attorneys who were assigned to serve when the Tennessee Public Guardian ceased its guardianship function in 2013. All Public Guardian cases were transferred to area attorneys and to GTC at that time. As those wards age, many attorneys find that they do not have the background in medicine and social work needed to address the needs of their wards.

2) Raise all staff to the level of Certified National Guardian.

3) Replace the current phone system (vintage 2002) with a more reliable VoIP system.

4) Increase participation in our Pooled Trust, serving beneficiaries with special needs by offering an opportunity for pooled investments that allow the beneficiary to retain eligibility for benefits.

5) Develop and maintain an unrestricted financial reserve of six weeks annualized expenses or better; maintain a restricted fund to offset the cost of indigent clients of $15,000.00 or better.

Needs

GTC's most pressing needs are:

Restricted funds to pay court-ordered fees for indigent clients - $3,000 for the first year of conservatorship for an indigent ward, and $2,000 annually thereafter.

Staff training/certification and continuing education - $1,000 per staff member up to $5,000 total.

Other ways to donate, support, or volunteerDonations also accepted by check. Volunteer opportunities are limited due to the sensitive nature of the organization's services. Please contact GTC and we will be happy to work with you to find the best way for you to become involved in the important work of protecting and nurturing one of our community's most vulnerable populations.

For guardianships and conservatorships, GTC serves Davidson County and contiguous counties. As trustee, GTC serves beneficiaries throughout the state.

Board Chair Statement

The Executive, Clinical Issues, Trusts, Personnel, & Development Committees work to give our staff resources and tools that enable them to provide the critical services our clients need, while helping raise the funds necessary to continue serving the community. GTC has grown each year due to the staff’s increasing productivity, aggressive solicitation of new sources of funding, and growing caseloads. Our revenue stream includes trust management fees and court-approved conservatorship fees collected from self-paying clients. GTC supports services to indigent client by soliciting funds from multiple sources including private gifts, corporate donations, foundation grants, the United Way, and other giving campaigns. GTC revenues have consistently increased over the years. The talents of our diverse staff and the contributions of our volunteer board yield a competitive advantage for continued financial stability in the future. GTC’s guardian/conservator program provides a safety net for those in our community who may have very limited resources but require significant service and care. GTC manages individual and pooled trusts to benefit individuals with special needs. The Supplemental Needs Trusts program protects investments while also retaining benefits. GTC has excelled in providing these services through active participation of the volunteer board and the ever-increasing skills and expertise of our staff. With continued education, cross-training, and on-the-job experience, GTC staff members provide top-notch service for the financial, medical, social, and legal needs of our clients.

CEO StatementGTC is a unique organization. For more than 35 years, the agency has operated as the only non-profit trust company in the state, and one of few in the country. In its daily operations, GTC provides financial and personal fiduciary services as attorney in fact, guardian, conservator, and trustee to persons with mental and physical disabilities of all ages. Professional staff members come from various backgrounds, and four are Registered Guardians with the National Guardianship Foundation. GTC's board of directors make their skills available to us: we can consult with a physician, nurse, social worker, attorneys, trust officers, and others in the financial industry as needed so that GTC can provide dependable and cost-efficient services of extremely high quality.

Adult Protective Services regularly looks to GTC to serve as guardian and conservator for wards of the court who have been abused, neglected or exploited and have nowhere else to turn.The person becomes a ward of the court after a hearing in which the court determines that the person lacks the capacity for decision-making and self-care. This person may have experienced medical or physical trauma, abuse, or neglect; may have no family members; and may have been financially victimized as well.

We provide assistance with living and daytime care arrangements, review and consent for medical treatment, financial management, benefits processing, legal representation, and other matters essential to the best outcome for each client. Our goal is to maximize all financial resources to enable the client to live safely in the least restrictive environment possible. We also serve wards of the court who are able to pay for the professional services rendered. Conservatorship fees cannot be collected until approved by the Probate Court Judge.

The goal of our conservatorship program is to improve the ward's quality of life. We do this by maintaining the ward in the least restrictive environment and ensuring that any benefits or other finances are maximized.

Upon appointment as
conservator, GTC has several immediate goals: Stabilize the person's
environment and eliminate unnecessary challenges raised by malnutrition, lack
of care, lack of social stimulation, lack of medication management and/or lack
of fiduciary oversight. Improve the person's health and psychological
well-being through coordination of appropriate medical, social and financial
decisions. Increase the person's longevity and quality of life as stressors
decline following implementation of an appropriate care plan. Conserve the
person's financial resources through maximization of public benefits, close
budgetary oversight and up-to-date understanding of Social Security,
Disability, Medicare, Medicaid and other relevant issues in elder care.

Long term Success

Guardianship and Trusts Corp. seeks to help the courts and Adult Protective Services to ensure that every individual in middle Tennessee whom the court has determined to require conservator services will receive those services, regardless of their ability to pay.

Program Success Monitored By

Conservatorship services promote safety, improved health, and ultimately improved longevity, as many unnecessary stressors are eliminated and care is managed properly. Signs of this improvement include improved nutritional intake and corresponding weight gain or loss, and measurable improvement on the Mini Mental State Examination.

Conservatorship services also maximize financial resources, ensuring that benefits and insurance are in place and that bills are paid on time, and that arrangements are in place for any emergency or eventuality. For clients who have been financially exploited, we pursue recovery of all misappropriated funds.

Examples of Program Success

B.C., a 78 year-old man with diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and dementia, signed a quitclaim deed giving his home away to his siblings. They moved in, sold his furnishings and placed him in a travel trailer. GTC had the warranty deed voided and sold the house. Now B.C. is stabilized in a nursing home where his blood sugar is monitored and he does not have problems falling.

A.S. is a 99 year-old woman with dementia who lost more than $70,000 after giving power of attorney to a longtime friend. GTC identified the improper expenditures and is recovering the funds with the court’s oversight. A.S. has meanwhile improved her nutritional intake.

Diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, 54 year-old M.M. was living in an isolated, rustic cabin in a rural county, her finances managed by a family friend in Nashville who never saw her. Concerned neighbors repeatedly found M.M. walking naked around the area, looking for scraps in unattended dog food bowls. Now M.M. lives in a group residence for women where she receives her medications regularly, eats consistently, and has opportunities for social interaction.

We serve as fiduciary over trusts set up for the benefit of persons with mental and/or physical disabilities. These can be Trusts Under Will or Living Trusts, most of which are Special or Supplemental Needs Trusts. We also offer a Pooled Trust, which have lower costs than separately managed trusts but offer the same benefits, while combining participants' funds for investments that benefit all trust participants proportionately.

Proper management of the trust ensures that the beneficiary does not lose access to any applicable means-tested government benefits like SSI or state Medicaid. GTC has more than thirty years' experience administering trusts under these complicated benefits programs. GTC relies on the investment advice of its Trusts and Investments committee, comprised of GTC directors drawn from local banks, trusts and investment firms.

GTC’s operations are closely supervised by an involved Board of Directors who meet formally and informally and regularly consult with staff between meetings. In most instances, GTC serves as the conservator of both the person and is or her assets. These conservatorships are set by court appointment and are subject to regular reporting and oversight requirements of the courts. As a trust company with a Certificate of Authority from the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions, GTC is also subject to the regulatory oversight of the state as regards the management of client assets. GTC must also provide regular reports on its handling of client funds to agencies such as the Veterans Administration and the Social Security Administration. GTC is the only non-profit organization in middle Tennessee offering free services to indigent clients.

Where most trust management services are for-profit and can afford to turn down all but the wealthiest clients, GTC has instituted a "Self-Settled Pooled Trust" to hold funds for Supplemental Needs for qualifying individuals with as little as $2,500 to invest. By pooling the funds for investment, GTC enables the clients to receive professional investment management services at a fraction of their usual cost-- meanwhile ensuring through careful disbursement procedures that the client does not lose access to means-tested benefits.

Despite a proven record of success, GTC lacks the resources to market its services to clients who can afford to pay the professional fees that keep GTC operating to serve indigent and paying clients alike. We are taking a first step towards marketing by creating a website in-house and using a no-frills hosting service provider, along with a basic Facebook page. We hope to expand our web presence as our resources allow for better site optimization. At the same time, our accounting software is not designed for shared investment accounts, and the spreadsheet system we are currently using will not be tenable if we are able to attract significantly more investors to the pooled fund, as we hope to do.

Board Chair

Board ChairMs. Carrie Hobbs Guiden

Company AffiliationThe Arc of Tennessee

TermSept 2011 to June 2018

Emailcguiden@thearctn.org

Board Members

Name

Affiliation

Status

Mr. Chip Blanks

Gant Systems LLC

Voting

Ms. Brooks Campany

Argent Trust

Voting

Mr. Pat Clarke

Hilliard Lyons

Voting

Dr. John Gibson

Nashville Medical Group

Voting

Mr. Richard W. Heiden

Retired

Voting

Ms. Carrie Hobbs Guiden

The Arc of Tennessee

Voting

Mr. William Keith Kesling

Equitable Trust Company

Voting

Ms. Jennifer Kim

Vanderbilt University, School of Nursing

Voting

Mr. John T. Lewis

Retired

Voting

Ms. Dora Mitchell

Guardianship and Trusts Corporation

Voting

Mr. Robert Newman

Pinnacle Financial

Voting

Mr. Howard Safer

Argent Trust

Voting

Mr. Trey Tally

Pinnacle National Bank

Voting

Ms. Angela Webster

Disability Rights TN

Voting

Board Demographics - Ethnicity

African American/Black1

Asian American/Pacific Islander0

Caucasian13

Hispanic/Latino0

Native American/American Indian0

Other0

Board Demographics - Gender

Male7

Female7

Unspecified0

Governance

Board Term Lengths3

Board Term Limits0

Board Meeting Attendance %74%

Does the organization have written Board Selection Criteria?No

Does the organization have a written Conflict of Interest Policy?Yes

Percentage of Board Members making Monetary Contributions43%

Percentage of Board Members making In-Kind Contributions100%

Does the Board include Client Representation?No

Number of Full Board Meetings Annually4

Standing Committees

Executive

Investment

Scientific Advisory

Risk Management Provisions

Accident & Injury Coverage

Automobile Insurance

Commercial General Liability

Computer Equipment & Software

Directors & Officers Policy

Employee Benefits Liability

Employment Practices Liability

General Property Coverage

Medical Health Insurance

Professional Liability

Property in Transit & Off Premises

Workers Compensation & Employers' Liability

CEO Comments

GTC’s operations are
closely supervised by an involved Board of Directors who meet formally and
informally and regularly consult with staff between meetings. In most
instances, GTC serves as fiduciary by court appointment and is subject to
regular reporting and oversight requirements of the courts. As a trust company,
GTC holds a Certificate of Banking Authority from the Tennessee Department of
Financial Institutions, which conducts regular audits as part of its regulatory
oversight. GTC must also report regularly on its handling of client funds to
agencies such as the Veterans Administration and the Social Security
Administration. Beyond fiduciary oversight and responsibility, GTC seeks
to cultivate board members with experience in fundraising--particularly in
major individual gifts as well as foundation grants--to provide the leadership
needed to bring existing donors to new levels of giving while overseeing efforts
to increase the donor base.

Executive Director/CEO

Executive DirectorMs. Dora Mitchell

Term StartOct 2008

Emaildoramitchell@gtctn.org

Experience

Ms. Mitchell has been with GTC since 1998, previously serving as Associate Executive Director and Director of Social Service until she became Executive Director in 2008. Prior to joining GTC, she was employed by the Mental Health Cooperative of Nashville. Ms. Mitchell earned her Master of Science degree in Public Service Management at Cumberland University. Prior to that, she earned the Bachelor of Science degree in Social Work from Middle Tennessee State University. Ms. Mitchell has been a National Certified Guardian with the Center for Guardianship Certification since 1999.

Co-CEO

Experience

Former CEOs

Name

Term

Mr. Harlen Cragon

Dec 1989 - Aug 1996

Ms. Paula Reed

July 1998 - Nov 2009

Staff

Full Time Staff4

Part Time Staff2

Volunteers14

Contractors0

Retention Rate100%

Plans & Policies

Does the organization have a documented Fundraising Plan?No

Does the organization have an approved Strategic Plan?Yes

Number of years Strategic Plan Considers3

When was Strategic Plan adopted?Aug 2016

In case of a change in leadership, is a Management Succession plan in place?No

Experience/BiographyB.A., Newcomb College, Tulane University; J.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Mrs. Reed practiced law as a staff attorney for Vanderbilt University and later in private practice in the fields of wills, trusts, taxation and general litigation. She served on the Board of Directors of GTC from 1990 – 1998, holding various board offices, until she became Executive Director of the agency in 1998. Mrs. Reed now serves as Chief Operations Officer. She has been certified as a National Registered Guardian with the Center for Guardianship Certification since 1999. She has served on various non profit boards, including the Arc of Davidson County, of which she was President of the Board, and the Arc of Tennessee. She has also been an active volunteer with the Junior League of Nashville and her children’s schools. Mrs. Reed is a member of the Nashville Bar Association.

CEO Comments

GTC’s operations are closely supervised by an involved Board of Directors who meet formally and informally, consulting regularly with staff between meetings. GTC serves as fiduciary primarily by court appointment, and must report back regularly on all actions and transactions made on behalf of each ward of the court. A publicly-chartered trust company, GTC is also subject to the regulatory oversight of the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions, which conducts regular audits of client accounts. GTC also reports on its handling of client funds to federal agencies such as the Veterans Administration and the Social Security Administration. Despite a proven record of success, GTC lacks the human and financial resources to market its services to clients who have funds to pay the professional fees for GTC services. Meanwhile, program revenue is our largest source of support to keep GTC operating to serve indigent and paying clients alike.

GTC seeks to increase revenues by offering a niche market service: management of accounts considered too small by banks and other trust companies. Where most trust management services are for-profit and can afford to turn down all but the wealthiest clients, GTC offers a "Self-Settled Pooled Trust" for qualifying individuals with $2,500 to open. By pooling these funds, GTC enables clients with more limited resources to receive professional trust management services at a fraction of the usual cost for such services. The Pooled Trust provides a great opportunity to bring in new clients, but we are challenged to develop this program sufficiently to enable GTC to accept additional indigent wards of the court. There has been little in the way of marketing for this service, and the opportunity to join the pooled trust remains unknown to most of the target market population.

GTC receives income from diverse sources including individual donations, foundation and corporate grants, and the United Way campaign. Fees for conservatorship services, most of which are subject to court approval, account for the majority of revenues; trust fees are the other source of service-generated revenue. Due to extensive reporting and oversight requirements, as well as the necessity of frequent court appearances, the services we provide unavoidably involve administrative costs. Nevertheless, fees charged to those who can afford them remain modest by community standards. The flexibility afforded by a small staff and active volunteer board have thus far allowed GTC to maintain a small reserve. Yearly financial results shown on the audit and 990 are calculated according to the accrual, rather than the cash accounting method. Work performed for fee-paying clients but not collected--or in many cases, not even billed--at the close of the fiscal year are calculated in accrual income for the year as receivables. In some cases, payment on a receivable is not expected for some months or even years. Profit or loss in any given year is in large part a function of the increase or decrease in receivables; consequently, results shown on the audit and 990 do not give an accurate picture of actual cash profits and losses for that year. The GTC Board relies almost entirely on the cash accounting method in making and tracking its budget because it accurately reflects actual results. Operating budget figures shown are calculated according to the cash method and do not necessarily reflect activity in reserve and grant accounts.

Related Information

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